For those waiting for excellent news this holiday season, Christmas tree prices in Northern California are expected to stay near last yr's levels, based on the California Christmas Tree Association.

No gloom could dampen the vacation spirit of the Cruickshank family, who had the chance to experience the sweet, citrusy scent of Douglas firs after they arrived at Santa's Tree Farm and Village in Half Moon Bay on Wednesday.

Located along leafy State Route 92, the 487-acre Christmas tree farm owned and operated by Dan and Natalie Sare has been a staple in the neighborhood for half a century. For the Cruickshank family, who traveled from Martinez, each the worth and the chance to support a neighborhood business were key aspects in deciding where to buy their tree this yr.

“It's nice because you can choose a giant tree, a medium-sized tree or whatever suits your family, all for a good price,” said Krista Cruickshank, an everyday customer who arrived before the Black Friday rush .

The trees at Santa's Tree Farm and Village are grown right on the farm and value $96 no matter size. In times of rising costs attributable to inflation, this price consistency is a vital factor for the family.

“Christmas trees are getting crazy expensive, but we're willing to drive here so we can choose any size we want for the same price. It’s really nice,” said Cruickshank, who works in technology marketing.

Christmas tree growers within the region should not expecting any significant price increases this yr. Depending on the dimensions, farm, tree species and extra services, prices can range from $65 to $200 or more from other farms and sellers.

For Dan and Natalie Sare, who’re celebrating 50 years of selling Christmas trees, being a select farm gives them the chance to attenuate price increases.

“We try not to raise them too much,” Natalie Sare said of their prices. “We typically don’t raise them for several years.”

In its suggestion for 2024, the writes The National Christmas Tree Association encouraged shoppers to begin early to make sure the very best selection.

“Due to their popularity, some Christmas tree farms in parts of the United States are selling out quickly,” the association said. “Shopping early in the season, right after Thanksgiving, is a good idea no matter where you plan to shop, as it gives you the widest selection.”

Although supplies could also be tight nationally, the association assured consumers that there will likely be enough real, farm-grown trees for anyone who wants one.

“Since 2016, the supply of real trees has been limited, but every year buyers have been able to find a tree,” the association said.

According to the association, about 25% of Americans purchased their Christmas trees from select farms last yr. Others purchased their trees from chain stores (21%), nurseries (16%), retail locations (15%), nonprofit organizations resembling Boy Scouts or churches (13%), online retailers (6%), or other sources (4%).

Mark Scheberies, owner of Alhambra Christmas Tree Farm in Martinez and president of the California Christmas Tree Association, said prices in Northern California will remain relatively stable this yr and provide is well positioned to satisfy market demand.

“I think it’s going to be really similar to last year,” Scheberies said. “There may be some markets with slight increases, but I don't expect any significant increases. The farms have been planting like crazy for the last seven or eight years and now the trees are ready. In fact, the market is as healthy as ever, with a good balance between supply and demand and no major shortages.”

In addition to the favored Douglas firs, the Sares also grow cedar, redwood and Monterey pines on their farm in Half Moon Bay.

They also offer greater than just trees.

The Sares' goal is to offer families with a whole holiday experience, with visits from Santa Claus on select days, train rides, a present shop and a puppet show created by their son Michael.

Linda Stucky, a property manager from Belmont, visited the farm along with her niece Lexy Denis and brother-in-law Paul Bradicich. They selected a big Douglas fir for the family and a smaller one for his or her mother's room.

“It was a lot of fun. There were definitely a lot of options,” Denis said. “All the trees were beautiful and it was cool to see so many different species. It was fun to cut one down.”

Bradicich said he's most looking forward to using 60-year-old antique Christmas ornaments from after they spent Christmas in Lake Tahoe.

Denis said she was looking forward to decorating the tree while listening to Christmas music. For Stucky, the vacations are about “being together and having peace together.”

Scheberies said the favored tradition of picking a Christmas tree offers families a probability to “reconnect” and put the challenges of the past yr behind them.

“A lot of people take their family photos and do things like that throughout the year,” he said. “It’s a feel-good tradition — a way to start the holidays, spend time together and forget about everything else.”

Sare said her company has weathered economic challenges lately because holiday traditions tackle even greater importance in times of crisis.

“The purchase happens once a year, so people feel really good about buying a Christmas tree,” Sare said. “It’s a special tradition and they enjoy it. A lot of people have told me they’re willing to spend the money because they only do it once a year.”

Originally published: November 30, 2024 at 6:05 am PST

When you walk through a forest, it could appear to be a static environment where little or no is occurring. But trees are always interacting and reacting to one another as they grow. There is intense competition for light and space, and any change affects the general composition of the forest ultimately.

Forest scientists like me spend loads of time fascinated with it Forest succession – a predictable process by which plant species colonize and dominate a bit of land. The basic sequence is that the land develops from an open field to scrubland and shrubs, then to young trees, and at last to large, mature trees. Disturbances akin to a severe storm or forest fire can interrupt or delay forest succession.

I study ecological changes in species composition, tree arrangement and forest development that occur during succession and after disturbances. My research team analyses conditions in mixed-species deciduous forests. Using tree rings, we reconstruct what former forests looked like years ago.

By applying observed patterns and processes, researchers can model the longer term growth and evolution of forests. Here are some insights into what might occur among the many trees around you as you’re taking a forest walk.

Battle for space and lightweight

Forest communities are made up of trees of various species, sizes and styles. Each species requires a certain amount of sunlight and space to thrive and grows at its own rate.

Many trees distance themselves from other trees to reduce interaction with their neighbors – a pattern researchers call crown shyness. If you look up, chances are you’ll notice gaps between trees and branches near the gaps with broken branches and fewer leaves. In contrast, branches and leaves which have adequate space and sunlight to grow are denser and healthier.

Mixed deciduous forests often support greater than 30 species of treeswhich suggests they will develop in many alternative ways. By understanding how trees interact, forest managers, whether rural or urban, can establish practices that control forest growth.

When a forest is just beginning to emerge, it may well have hundreds of tree seedlings per hectare. But only 50 to 100 trees per hectare can survive and grow up. Foresters are working to find out which trees are displacing other trees and which trees are giving up growing space.

One of an important zones for understanding forest growth is the cover – the forest cover, which incorporates all of the leaves, branches and twigs within the tree crowns. A typical mixed forest has several cover layers consisting of species with different growth rates. When trees die, they release growth space that surviving trees use by growing and expanding their canopies.

How storms shape the forest

A mature tree can be exposed to many weather events during its life. Storms force trees to sway and bump into their neighbors, causing crown abrasion – damage to buds and branch suggestions. These effects can Slowing down and reducing branch growthCrown wear is an indication that the tree population is simply too dense and competition amongst trees is undermining healthy growth.

However, crown abrasion can actually help some species. For example, oaks, a slower-growing species, have dense tissue and powerful branches that may abrasive and damage branches of faster-growing trees akin to poplars and rubber trees, whose wood is weaker and fewer dense. This allows oaks to outcompete their initially faster-growing competitors.

Some forests are monocultures, with just one species of tree. In large parts of the western United States, for instance, forests were burned or cut down within the nineteenth century and later replanted with Lodgepole pinenative to western mountain regions. The trees all grew back at the identical rate, unlike in mixed forests where some species grow faster than others.

This resulted in tall, slender trees that fluctuate more in windDue to crown abrasion or crown shyness, the pines have small crowns that don’t expand laterally so far as normal.

These forests eventually stagnate. The distance between the trees shrinks since the small crowns of the trees don’t keep neighboring trees at arm's length. Tree growth decreases and The vitality of the trees is decreasing.

Thinning of those forests or the implementation prescribed fires can increase the space between trees and supply extra space for crown growth.

Watching the trees fight

To study the movement of branches in wind, my students and I exploit accelerometers – devices that measure how quickly the speed of a moving object changesMost modern smartphones contain built-in accelerometers Apps like Google Maps help determine the phone's location.

We attach the accelerometers near the ends of the branches, where they measure the movements of the branches in three dimensions. By combining this data with real-time wind speed measurements, we are able to determine the movements and acceleration of the branches in response to different wind speeds.

In one study, we examined how interactions between different tree species altered the forest cover in riparian forests along rivers and streams in central Mississippi. These forests consisted primarily of Cherry bark oak And Sweetgum treesBoth species are common in mixed stands, but have different crown shapes and growth rates.

At first, sweetgum trees were more quite a few and distinguished in young forests. But over time, because of the abutting trees, cherry oaks began to achieve strength within the spaces left by rubbed sweetgum branches. Eventually, the oak displaced the declining sweetgum and got here to dominate the forest cover.

Leadership from top to bottom

The forest environment is always changing and is influenced by many aspects, from insect invasions and plant diseases to climate change and natural disasters. Physical cover wear amongst species will not be as well understood as a few of these other pressures, but clearly contributes to the event of diverse mixed-species deciduous forests.

Our research suggests that when crown wear reduces the crown size and growth of faster-growing species, slower-growing, more vigorous species can emerge and prevail. These findings might help scientists and foresters develop and manage healthy, productive forests.

When wildfire smoke is within the air, doctors urge people to Stay indoors to avoid inhaling harmful particles and gases. But what happens to trees and other plants that can’t escape the smoke?

As it seems, they could react in an identical strategy to us: some trees essentially close their windows and doors and hold their breath.

As atmospheric And Chemistwe investigate the air quality and ecological impacts of wildfire smoke and other pollutants. In a study that began by accident when smoke flooded our research site in Colorado, we were capable of watch in real time how the leaves of living pine trees reacted.

How plants breathe

Plants have pores on the surface of their leaves called stomata. These pores are much like our mouths, except that plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen, while we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.

Both humans and plants breathe in other chemicals from the air around them and breathe out chemicals produced in them – some humans smell coffee, some trees smell pine.

However, unlike humans, leaves breathe out and in concurrently, meaning they continuously absorb and release atmospheric gases.

Evidence from over a century of research

At the start of the twentieth century, scientists studying trees in heavily polluted areas discovered that trees chronically exposed to pollution from coal combustion Black grains clog the leaf pores through the plants. They suspected that the substance in these granules was partly produced by the trees, but since no instruments were available on the time, the chemistry of those granules was never investigated, nor was the effect on plant photosynthesis.

Most modern research on the results of wildfire smoke has focused on crops and the The results were contradictory.

For example, a study of several crop and wetland areas in California showed that smoke scatters light in a way that plants more efficient in photosynthesis and growth. However, a laboratory study during which plants were exposed to artificial smoke found that plant productivity decreased during and after smoke exposure – although these plants recovered after a couple of hours.

There is further evidence that wildfire smoke can negatively affect plants. You may even have tried one before: When grapes are exposed to smoke, Wine could also be contaminated.

What makes smoke toxic even removed from the hearth

As smoke from wildfires travels long distances, it evaporates in sunlight and undergoes chemical changes.

The mixture of volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides and sunlight is Generate ground-level ozonewhich may result in Respiratory problems in humans. It can even damage plants by destroying the leaf surface, oxidizing plant tissue and slowing down photosynthesis.

While scientists typically assume that urban areas are major sources of ozone that affect crops downwind, smoke from forest fires is a emerging concernOther compounds, including nitrogen oxides, can even Damage plants and reduce photosynthesis.

In summary, studies suggest that wildfire smoke interacts with plants, but in ways in which will not be yet fully understood. This lack of research is attributable to the problem of studying the results of smoke on the leaves of living plants within the wild: wildfires are difficult to predict and being in smoky environments could be dangerous.

Accidental research – in the midst of a forest fire

We didn’t want to check how plants react to wildfire smoke. Rather, we wanted to know how plants release volatile organic compounds – the chemicals that make forests smell like forests, but additionally affect air quality and even change cloud cover.

Fall 2020 was a foul season for wildfires within the Western United States, and thick smoke wafted through a field where we were working within the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

On the primary morning of heavy smoke, we conducted our usual test to measure photosynthesis on the leaf level of ponderosa pines. We were surprised to seek out that the tree's pores were completely closed and photosynthesis was almost zero.

We also measured the leaves’ emissions of volatile organic compounds and located very low levels. This implies that the leaves didn’t “breathe” – They didn’t breathe within the carbon dioxide they should grow or breathe out the chemicals they normally release.

Given these unexpected results, we decided to force photosynthesis and see if we could “defibrillate” the leaf and get it back to its normal rhythm. By changing the temperature and humidity of the leaf, we cleared the leaf's “airways” and saw a sudden improvement in photosynthesis and a rise in volatile organic compounds.

Our months of knowledge have shown that some plants reply to heavy smoke clouds from wildfires. by closing their stock exchange with outside air. They effectively hold their breath, but not before they’ve been exposed to the smoke.

We suspect a couple of processes that might have caused the leaf pores to shut: Smoke particles could coat the leaves and form a layer that forestalls the pores from opening. Smoke could also penetrate the leaves and clog their pores, leaving them sticky. Or the leaves could physically react to the primary signs of smoke and shut their pores before they get the worst of it.

It might be a mix of those and other answers.

The long-term effects are still unknown

Exactly how long the results of smoke from wildfires last and what long-term effects repeated smoke exposure has on plants, including trees and crops, remains to be unclear.

Given the increasing intensity and frequency of forest fires attributable to Climate change, Forest management policy And human Behaveit is crucial to higher understand the impacts.

Trees: They produce almost a 3rd of the world's oxygen are sacrificially harvested to construct our homes and produce goods from rubber to coconuts. But are they art?

A brand new exhibition of large-format photographs on the David Brower Center in Berkeley argues that they’re indeed value our attention. East Bay photographer Stefan Thuilot has been pursuing what he calls California Forest Projectwith tens of hundreds of images captured from all 25 of the state's forest ecosystems. Yes, there are that many, from the paranormal redwoods of the north to the rugged conifers of the high plains to the gnarled oak groves of our own Henry Coe State Park.

The technology needed to print Thuilot's high-resolution images, composed of a whole lot of photos, at full size doesn’t yet exist – he hopes it can be available in the longer term. But the photos on display are still breathtakingly large, tree-like as much as 4 meters tall. In these photos, he tells stories not only in regards to the world's largest living organisms, but additionally about looming dangers reminiscent of inadequate forest management and increasingly devastating wildfires.

“I believe photography is a powerful tool,” he says, “to depict the changing landscapes that threaten their heritage.”

Details: Free admission. Open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. within the Hazel Wolf Gallery of the David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley; browercenter.org. The opening reception is May thirtieth at 6:30 p.m.; the show runs through August twenty second.